2020 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Prototype Spied

S is for snowbird

It’s official—the all-new 2020 Mercedes-Benz S-Class is now in session. Snowy spy photos of the next-generation S-Class have recently surfaced giving us our first glimpses of the very special luxury sedan.

Under the new sheet metal, the prototype is likely packing a 4.0 twin turbo V-8 engine that offers at least 463 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque.

Its V-8 is likely to be mated to a new 9-speed automatic transmission with a 4MATIC all-wheel drive system—judging by the extreme weather testing conditions.

Mercedes-Benz is also experimenting with electrified powertrains, so it could be a hybrid with an electric motor and pack a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 that the brand is also known to tinker with. That engine offers 362 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque and is also mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission.

Judging from these photos, it doesn’t appear to be a plug-in—unless its charge point is well hidden under all the camouflage.

Recently, all 2018 S-Classes have received over 6,500 parts upgrades since the previous model—so we imagine there’s lots of tweaking going on under the hood here.

Up front, the mesh grille and headlights are well clad, but the front end appears to take on a new boxier look than its predecessor.

Around back, it remains the same as this year’s model except for a smaller less pronounced rear light kit. The LEDs are likely to get an upgrade for the next installment.

Overall, it seems on schedule for its possible 2020 debut. We’ll have to wait and see what level of autonomous features are planned for this model as well.

One thing is certain, this S-Class is definitely packing a snowdrift mode—whether it is intentional or not.

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